• TSI turbo petrol engine line-up
• Up to 300hp and all-wheel drive
• Fast, but not that exciting

Petrol engines

The Cupra Ateca was first launched with the single option of a 2.0-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine producing 300hp and 400Nm of torque (pulling power). Channelling that power through a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission to all four wheels, this gave the car a claimed 0–62mph time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 152mph. In terms of five-seater family SUVs, this is a pretty quick one.

In 2023, however, Cupra added more affordable 150hp 1.5-litre and 190hp 2.0-litre models as well – both also petrol-powered and turbocharged. These too come with the seven-speed DSG transmission, and the 190hp model gets the same 4Drive all-wheel drive system as the 300hp version. The 150hp Cupra Ateca is front-wheel drive only.

Performance from the newer engines is obviously less impressive. The 1.5 takes 9.3 seconds to go from 0–62mph and it’ll hit 124mph flat out. The 2.0-litre is quicker, taking 7.2 seconds and reaching 132mph. But the star of the show here is undoubtedly the 300hp variant.

The engine, gearbox and all-wheel drive system work very well together, providing plenty of poke and good traction, allowing the fastest Ateca to cover ground at an impressive rate. It’s not, perhaps, as ferocious as those figures for the 300hp versions might lead you to suspect – there’s no massive kick in the back here when you put your foot down. But speed builds quickly, even so.

54

For comparison, the 1.5-litre car with half the horsepower feels relatively nippy around town, helped by the responsive DSG automatic. It becomes much harder work on the motorway. Though far from slow, we certainly didn’t feel like we could dispatch other traffic with anything like the alacrity of the most powerful motor. It sounds dirge-like as well.

The noise of the 300hp engine is sporty but quiet and quite remote, which a surprise given how brazen the Cupra looks from the outside. While many may like this more mature approach, no doubt some potential buyers will be disappointed by the lack of extrovert fireworks from the exhaust. You can solve this with an optional Akrapovic exhaust system on the top VZN variant, which costs over £3,300.

You can choose to activate the gearbox manually via the paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel, but it does a decent job taking care of business if left to its own devices. We found that if we left the car in too high a gear, the engines got very bogged down – something to keep in mind when pulling away from junctions.

54

A choice of driving modes allows you tailor the experience to a certain extent, changing the accelerator mapping to exaggerate or relax responsiveness and the speed of gearshifts, as well as the weight of the steering. On 300hp versions this also alters the firmness of the standard-fit Dynamic Chassis Control variable suspension and includes an extra, more aggressive setting, labelled Cupra.

The rest of the range makes do with conventional suspension, and a 10mm increase in ride-height.

What’s it like to drive?

• 4Drive all-wheel drive adds traction
• Tall body leans over more than a hatch
• Composed and balanced, even so

It takes a lot to unstick a 300hp Cupra Ateca, thanks to its four-wheel drive system and adaptive suspension. But, as we drove faster into corners, the bodyroll – while mostly well contained – eventually convinced us to ease off a bit. It handles well for a tall car, but there’s only so much Cupra’s engineers can do to resist body movement in an SUV that doesn’t have expensive active anti-roll systems.

When really cornering quickly you can feel the all-wheel drive system shuffling power to the back wheels, just before the front ones start to feel overwhelmed. It’s quite impressive to experience as we felt the car could maintain traction and grip during wet-weather conditions far better than we’d expect for such an upright and heavy car. The Ateca retains a fundamentally front-wheel drive feel in all situations, however, and the back of the car never becomes too wayward.

54

It still lacks something compared with the enjoyment you get from driving a good, conventional hot hatch, such as a Cupra Leon or Volkswagen Golf R. The Cupra Ateca’s steering and front end response just don’t engage the driver enough. It’s perfectly pleasant but not truly exciting, and we had to adopt quite an aggressive driving style to really get the most out it. The VZ3 and VZN versions are best if this sounds like you, as they come with a Brembo brake upgrade with mightier stopping power.

On the less powerful cars, the slightly higher, less sophisticated suspension makes itself known through a slight increase in body roll. But these are still firm riding cars, so you’re unlikely to find this excessive. And while the front-wheel drive 1.5-litre variant doesn’t have the same level of reassuring all-weather traction as the rest of the range, we still had to be pressing on very fast before we started running out grip.

The Ateca deals with mid-corner bumps well, regardless of suspension type. And it typically absorbs surface changes with little drama. But we found rougher roads transmitted shocks through to the cabin, and ride comfort on longer journeys is not as relaxing as we’ve experienced in less sporty rivals.